Skip to main content

Kobo Touch with Offers carries cheap $99 price, built-in advertising

kobo-touch

Kobo, the Toronto-based company behind the Kobo Touch eReader, has come up with inventive way to save its customers a few dollars by replacing that income with ad revenue. The company’s soon-to-be-released Kobo Touch with Offers is an electronic ink screen e-reader (like the Kindle) that sells for $99 in the United States. It is identical to the standard Kobo Touch, save for one important feature: built-in ad time.

Basically, the Kobo Touch with Offers will automatically display “sponsored screens and valuable offers” when the device isn’t in use, such as when it’s offer, in sleep mode or “in other discreet places that are always outside of the reading experience, like on the bottom of your home screen.” The device will only be available in black and to U.S. customers when it is released; Kobo hasn’t announced a date, but the device’s product page says it’ll start shipping in 2-3 weeks.

Related Videos

Other than the ads, the Kobo Touch with Offers offers the same specs as its more expensive, ad-free sibling. It’s an eInk tablet with a 6-inch screen that weights less than half a pound. It sports a built-in 1 GB of internal memory that can be expanded with up to 32 GB of SD card storage. Kobo’s store has roughly 2.2 million books on offer.

Editors' Recommendations

MasterClass Deal: Learn a new skill from masters like Gordon Ramsay on the cheap
masterclass buy one get free pass deal gordon ramsay

Keen to use your extra time at home wisely? A MasterClass course is a fantastic way to learn new things and right now, the service is offering two all-access passes for the price of one. That means for $180, you and a loved one can learn and study a variety of different subjects through some fantastic educational resources.

Each all-access pass offers hundreds of lessons from the most knowledgeable instructors out there. You can easily watch them via your smart TV, smartphone, laptop, or tablet.

Read more
Hulu is finally offering 4K and 5.1 surround sound audio on Roku
Roku Express 2019 remote control

While some Roku Streaming devices support 4K resolution, not all 4K streaming platforms have supported these devices. Disney-owned Hulu recently updated its user-facing help pages to inform customers that the platform is finally offering 4K streaming and 5.1 surround sound audio on Roku devices. Previously, only 1080p streaming was available via the Hulu app on Roku. The platform still does not support HDR streaming on any device.

Hulu has had a difficult time implementing 4K on its platform, announcing the capability in 2016 on select titles and devices before removing support entirely in 2018. It has since been re-added on some devices, such as the Apple TV 4K, but the move to add Roku to the list of 4K- and 5.1-compatible devices indicates the platform hasn't given up on the latest resolution tech.

Read more
Flexible, wireless skin interface could restore amputees’ sense of touch
flexible wireless epidermal vr john rogers northwestern university garrett shaking aadeel s hand

New tech gives VR a human touch

VR hardware tends to focus on using a headset to convey visual and auditory information, giving users a realistic experience of virtually generated sights and sounds. But what about another equally important sensation -- touch? With the right technology, tactile sensation technology could let people virtually hold hands from across the globe, experience full-body VR immersion, or even restore a sense of touch to those who have lost a limb.

Read more